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Brown went on, moving his mouth closer to the microphone to make sure he was heard clearly.

“Without question he has a lot of speed and power,” Brown said. “He’s the best defensive end in this draft. You all should draft him.”

All of those elite left tackles believe that to be true. Spencer gave Thomas his first, and perhaps only, good battle of the season. Against Harris and Notre Dame, Spencer made a career-high 15 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. Against Brown, the Penn State left tackle, Spencer provided the scouts with a tremendous back-and-forth showcase all through Senior Bowl week.

Brown is adamant that Spencer, the 6-foot-2½, 262-pound defensive end, can pressure NFL quarterbacks. So is 35-year veteran scout Tom Marino, who watched Spencer closely this season. Marino, of Scout.com, believes Spencer falls right in line as a 3-4 outside linebacker, a position at which the Steelers have a need.

“I think Anthony Spencer is a perfect fit for the Steelers,” said Marino. “He can run, and he really surprised me by how explosive he is. He’s got a chance to be a real pass-rusher.”
But at pick 15? Even Marino, in his pre-combine rankings, has Spencer rated as the No. 32 athlete in this draft.

“Yeah, I think it’s a little high for him,” Marino said. “He may not be there for their second pick, though. That’s the thing about it. You want to see maybe if you can trade down. Trade down to 23, 24 and pick up a third or a fourth or something like that and get the guy you want.”

Marino suspects the Steelers will stick with their 3-4 scheme and continue to search for the athletes that have made Dick LeBeau’s defense so strong over the years.

“I think you modify some things,” Marino said. “But Dick LeBeau is a great coach. I don’t think you retain him if you’re going to run something totally different than he’s accustomed to running.”

The only other “tweener” type Marino ranks in his first round is Florida junior Jarvis Moss (estimated 6-5½, 255), who had 7.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss last season. Spencer had 10.5 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss. The latter statistic led the nation.

“Moss can run,” said Marino. “But to be real honest with you I did not study him, but I did see him and I know one thing he can do is he can run. I couldn’t tell you as much about him as I could Spencer. Right now I feel comfortable talking about Spencer. He has the ability to do all those things. I don’t know if Spencer’s hips are tight, whether he can do all those drops and stuff that a linebacker has to do, but he’s really just maturing into his body right now. He’s a power guy, a powerful, explosive guy. All I can tell you about Moss is he’s bigger, taller, a lean-looking guy, and he looks very, very linear to me on tape, but he can run. He can run.”

Moss sits 26th on Marino’s board, but even though he has Spencer rated lower, the more he watches him on tape the more he likes him.

“The guy’s got a chance to be a real big-time pass-rusher. He’s got a real chance of being special,” Marino said. “Prior to this year they say he was not a full-time guy. He wouldn’t chase backside. But this year, somebody got to him and told him he’s got to be a football player, that you have to do this thing here year-around and you have to be something special. And I think he showed some real stuff to me. He’s a perfect fit for them. He’s their kind of guy. He’s got their kind of mentality and he’s a Dick LeBeau type of guy. He’s a perfect fit in their system.”

Marino doesn’t have to sell him to the Steelers, an organization he respects.

“They’ll do all the work they have to do,” he said. “That’s a real good staff. I’ve been around those guys and know them. They have guys like Ronnie Hughes, who’s been doing that for a long time, and young Danny (Rooney, Jr.) and Mark Gorscak and guys like that. They have guys who do a good job. Another advantage they have is the GM. Kevin Colbert was a scout first. That’s a big plus. When you have guys coming from the other end, who were maybe numbers-crunchers and things like that, you may not have that, but Kevin understands it and I think that puts him ahead of the game.

“The Steelers won’t be thinking in terms of ‘Well, we took him earlier than we wanted to.’ If they feel the guy’s a fit for them, they’ll take him. They won’t worry about what other people think. They’ll worry about their football team. If most of the league rates Spencer 30th, and they think he can help them and upgrade them, they’ll take him. I feel strongly about that.”

K-train this article should make you very happy as it sounds like the Steelers are looking at AS. Led the nation in tackles for losses and I wouldn't consider Purdue the ideal place to do that from! AS has received praises from both Joe Thomas and Levi Brown - the 2 top tackles in this years draft! I gotta believe that the Steelers could trade down with one of those teams looking for a WR (this draft has got some good ones) to get some value with their pick. Spencer would be a good pick in the 20's but 15 is too high for him! Most boards are now rating AS around 30-32. I would be happy with AS as the Steelers #1 pick!

K-train this article should make you very happy as it sounds like the Steelers are looking at AS. Led the nation in tackles for losses and I wouldn't consider Purdue the ideal place to do that from! AS has received praises from both Joe Thomas and Levi Brown - the 2 top tackles in this years draft! I gotta believe that the Steelers could trade down with one of those teams looking for a WR (this draft has got some good ones) to get some value with their pick. Spencer would be a good pick in the 20's but 15 is too high for him! Most boards are now rating AS around 30-32. I would be happy with AS as the Steelers #1 pick!

his stock might rise enough to where it's no longer a reach at 15, kinda like dware, he came out of nowhere it seems and was picked pretty damn high......the same could happen for spencer

My bad! I thought K-train was pimpin him first!

Originally Posted by Black@Gold Forever32

Hey I'm not shocked by this since I was the one that has been Pimp'In Spencer on this site for some time now.

Whoever was pimpin him first, he looks like the kinda player that could upgrade our D almost immediately! I think that pick would make Haggans and Arnold Harrison expendable. To all of you secondary doubters, adding a guy like this who is possibly the premier pass rusher in this years draft would upgrade our secondary immediately! Decreasing the amount of time that opposing QB's have to look downfield improves any secondary! With Anthony Smith and Troy playing the safety positions and Ike and Bryant McFadden at the corners I look for better secondary play this year! Bring on Anthony Spencer!

Trading down is so risky though, because you never know who's going to be trying to jump ahead of you to get the guy you want. If you trade down too far, somebody else could make a deal with the team you just dealt with to move down so it's risky. If it pays off then you look like a master, if it flops then you everybody second guesses why you didnt just take him higher. Like Koopa mentioned his stock may rise so he's not such a reach at 15.